Danger of paint fumes

[mgk65]

Dr. Ron:

I had quite a disaster last month.

We've been remodeling and painting various parts of the house - kitchen cabinets, bath, etc.

Last month, both my tanks, the main display and my basement frag tanks started to get cloudy and get a sweetish smell. The corals started getting upset and there was some slick film on the water. I thought it was a bacteria problem. I did some large water changes and the problems started to clear up.

At this point I thought it had been a bacteria occurance.

A couple of weeks later, we were doing some more painting and the same thing happened.

We had done painting with regular latex paints, epoxy, and varnishes before without problem.

However, this time we had used an alcohol based primer - Zinsser BIN.

At this point I am convinced that it was something to do with the alcohol-based primer.

The VOCs (volatile organic compounds) created a lot of problems for me and I'm using this message as a warning for others to be careful when using this product. Make sure you have a great deal of ventilation when using products that have a lot of vapor by-products.

Do you think it was likely that the Zinsser BIN was the problem?
What do you think about other paints/varnishes that are water-based and spirit-based?

thanks, doc!
mgk

[Leopardshark]

Hi, I will tell you my experience.
I have a 300 gal tank, well, one day my mother came to the idea that painting all the closets, doors and everything else white.
The paintor used spray. My room was closed all days and no problems at all.
When it was the turn for my room (where my tank is) I told the paintor to take the doors and everything else to the garden and paint it int here. Still he painted a little bit with a brush in my room.
That same day my tank turned white!!:eek1: I added more carbon, and waited to see what happened.
My GSP were stressed, nothing else showed stress.
That white look dissapeared in 2-3 days and everything went fine.
I assume water is like a sponge and will absorb whatever is in the air, cigarrette smoke, smog, sprays, whatever.

If I were you, I would add some carbon and ventilate the room.
Good luck

[rshimek]

Hi,

Well, both the primer and the paint are probably to blame, however an alcohol based primer would certainly have fumes that would likely be soluble in tank water.

I have painted in rooms containing tanks, but when I do, I generally cover the tank as completely as possilble, and use several air pumps to bring in air from outside the room (generally from outside the house). The tank remains covered and isolated from the room for a couple of days to pass through the worst of the fume period.

Any fumes in the house may be absorbed in the tank. I once treated some plants in my living room with a systemic pesticide (the kind you add to the water for the plants and is taken up through the roots). Within a few days, the fumes from the pesticide were noticeable in the house, and the tanks crashed. Outside spraying for weeds or insects is also a problem.

The moral is that we really have to be careful of what gets into the air around our tanks.

:strooper:

[mgk65]

Thanks doc!

mgk